Template determines who makes school-closing list

Sunday

Nov 8, 2009 at 12:01 AMNov 8, 2009 at 1:28 PM

Nine Columbus schools have dwindling enrollment, aging buildings and academic struggles. Six of them are sure to close, but more could. The fate of all nine hangs in the balance as district officials weigh their options and listen to parents' concerns at community meetings that start this week.

Six of them are sure to close, but more could. And one of them -- Douglas Alternative Elementary -- has been here twice before.

The fate of all nine hangs in the balance as district officials weigh their options and listen to parents' concerns at community meetings that start this week. The first begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday at East High School, 1500 E. Broad St.

Columbus schools decide which buildings might close by running data through a template that asks about enrollment, capacity, building quality and academics. First adopted in 1981, the template was revamped in 1997. It was used when the district closed 12 schools in 2005 and again when two closed in 2007.

"I think it's a very objective process that is based on the needs of the district. And to the extent that we're evaluating all of the school buildings, I think it's a very fair process," said Floyd V. Jones, co-chairman of the school-closings committee.

A total of 24 school programs have been shut as part of the district's sweeping facilities plan. Many of those buildings still are being used in some way, often as temporary space while schools are built. Nine buildings are being leased.

Once schools are fed through the template, the outside committee and district officials consider any unique characteristics of the schools and take a closer look at academic performance. That part is a bit more subjective, and it's how the committee whittled its list from 17 to nine last month.

The template doesn't consider demographic information, transportation issues and geographic location of the schools until the end. Those have been taken into account, Jones said, but haven't been extensively discussed. They'll be examined more by the Columbus Board of Education, district spokeswoman Kim Norris said.

Most of the nine have a higher percentage of special-needs students than the district average. All of them have poorer students than the district average, and six of the nine schools are located in eastern parts of the city.

Here's detail on why each of the schools is being considered:

Beery Middle

• Enrollment: 296, down 10 percent since 2006. Capacity is 659.

• Other factors: Most of Beery's students live in nearby neighborhoods. The school shares a campus with Marion-Franklin High School, and although district officials say splitting up a school campus isn't recommended, the schools are far enough apart that it's OK in this case. Buckeye and Southmoor middle schools could take the students assigned to Beery, which has an F grade from the state, officials say.

Clinton Middle

• Enrollment: 383, down 20 percent since 2006. Capacity is about 700.

• Other factors: Clinton has long struggled with academics and has been graded a D or F for most of the past seven years. District officials say there would be plenty of space for Clinton students at Medina or Woodward Park middle schools if it closed.

Deshler Elementary

• Enrollment: 232, down 19 percent since 2006. Capacity is 475.

• Other factors: There are more than 400 kids in the Deshler neighborhood, but six of every 10 who are assigned to go there attend other Columbus schools.

Deshler has struggled with academics for years; it has an F grade and has been overhauled by the district after it failed to make enough progress in math and reading.

Douglas Alternative Elementary

• Enrollment: 212, down 14 percent since 2006. Capacity is 249.

• Other factors: As an alternative school, Douglas draws its students from across the district through a lottery instead of mostly from the neighborhood. Some of the district's lottery schools are so popular they keep waiting lists, but not Douglas, which has open, informal classrooms. It has a D rating.

Eastmoor Middle

• Enrollment: 352, down 19 percent since 2006. Capacity is 616.

• Other factors: If Eastmoor is closed, a program for orthopedically disabled students would have to be relocated. But the school has been struggling for several years with academics and has an F grade on state report cards.

Fair Elementary

• Enrollment: 258, down 5 percent since 2006. Capacity is 300.

• Other factors: More than one in three students assigned to Fair choose to attend another district school. Its building dates to 1890 and the school earned a D grade on the state report card.

Franklin Alternative Middle

• Enrollment: 441, down 15 percent since 2006. Capacity is 680.

• Other factors: Franklin draws students from throughout the district as a college-preparatory alternative school but is well below its capacity. The building is in better shape than all of the others being considered except Beery, which has the same facility quality score. Franklin has a D grade.

Indianola Math, Science and Technology Middle

• Enrollment: 344, down 30 percent since 2006. Capacity is 638.

• Other factors: Indianola has struggled with academics longer than any of the other schools being considered for closing. It is an F-rated school that has been on a state school-improvement list for nine years. But the building was built in 1927 and is historically significant, so the district says it would be re-purposed.

Literature-Based Alternative at Hubbard Elementary

• Enrollment: 194, down 7 percent since 2006. Capacity is 300.

• Other factors: Another lottery school, the Literature school is more than 100 students below capacity. It's in a historic building that dates to 1896 and is in very poor condition. It has a D on the state report card.

jsmithrichards@dispatch.com

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